Christmas is coming! ^^post just a little late^^

If you are in need of something quick and easy to give your kids for the holidays here are a few ideas. In the past I have given them reindeer noses, elf pillows, and Grinch dust. You will need milk duds or whoopers and cherry sours for reindeer noses. For elf pillows grab a bag of soft peppermint puffs. I give out Grinch dust on Grinch day. Just a bag of green sprinkles. To get your own labels just click the pictures below! or here!

My kids make these cute reindeer ornaments for their parents.

I like to read this book to my class before the holidays.

Then we did this little text to self connection readers response sheet. Click here to grab a copy!

^^^^I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!!^^^^

needs and wants

I have had this blog post just sitting as an unfinished draft for a while now. I am finally getting around to publishing it! In November we worked on needs and wants. Although this unit is Thanksgiving themed it will work for anytime of the year.

We read different versions of The Three Little Pigs and compared the story elements. Then we did this craftivity. They got to pick what material (straw, wood, bricks) they would build their house out of. I used straw, mini craft sticks, and sponges dipped in red paint. Then they finished the sentence prompt, "I built my house out of . . ."

Then we made a kindergarten neighborhood. The kids did this all on their own. First we looked at different types of shelters all over the world. Then they drew a shelter with a black crayon. They painted their shelter using water colors.

I read all the pigeon books by Mo Willems to teach needs and wants. The books are so fun to read and the kids love them. I also used the Pigeon Perfect unit by Sarah Cooley. The kids made the pigeons using blue paper scraps.

After learning about needs and wants we discussed how do people get what they need or want. We discussed saving and spending money. So then I let them save up pretend money for good behavior and doing class jobs. Then they spent their money on different craft items to "stuff" their thanksgiving turkey.

 

pumpkins and bats

October flew by.  November is here and I can't believe it. I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving break. This teacher is tired. Here are some of the activities we did with pumpkins and bats.

 

We were little scientists and went through the scientific method. We asked the question, "Will a pumpkin sink or float?" Then we graphed our hypothesis. We surveyed 10 friends to find out what they think.

Grab the recording sheet by clicking the picture.

The next two ideas are from Kim Adsit. Pumpkin brace map using shared writing.

Practicing non fiction pumpkin writing after reading lots of books about pumpkins.

Comparing apples and pumpkins.

The following two bat activities are from Kim Jordano.

 

Bat tree map idea from Babbling Abby.

We practiced asking questions about bats.

Echolocation song written by Mrs. Jones. Sung to the tune of you are my sunshine.

 

Fall fun

October is flying by and we have been busy. We wrapped up our study on spiders and scarecrows. Lots of great learning going on here. I just love October!

We made a picture graph- Are you afraid of spiders? Then they analyzed the data on their own recording sheet.

 We learned how to make a graph with this anchor chart. Anchor chart inspired by Kim Adsit.

We labeled the parts of a spider. The kids drew their own spider in their science journal and practiced labeling the parts. Chart inspiration by Cara Carroll.

 Somewhere in October we learned about Christopher Columbus.

 We read The Little Scarecrow Boy and followed up with this craft by Julie Lee. They had to decide what kind of face they wanted their little scarecrow boy to have.

We read The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything. We retold and acted out the story using these fun story props. Then we learned all about onomatopoeia.

 We've also been having some spooky fun. We read this emergent reader. I passed out witch fingers for the kids to tract print. We used the reading strategy fly eye to help us decode tricky words. You can find this book and the student version in my new spooky spooky unit.

 I put these and the play-doh mats in my morning tubs. I found all the erasers and bags at Target. My kids love it. All of these activities are found here.

 

 Be sure to check out these units on TPT.

community helpers and apples!

We finished up our study on community helpers and apples. I just love these little community helpers by Julie Lee. We made little teachers, bakers, doctors, and firefighters. For shared reading we used the big book Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip. Then I asked the kids what they want to be when they grow up.

We made mail bags and wrote letters. Then we pretended to be mail carriers and deliever mail to other students in the room. The poem says . . . See the mailman dressed in blue, will he bring a letter to you? He works when it rains, and when it snows, he even works when the wind blows.

We made doctor bags and glued inside a band-aid, cotton ball, tongue depressor, and a cotton swab.

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We made applesauce and wrote the steps using shared writing.

They wrote their own how to make applesauce. Then we graphed our favorite apple product (apple juice or applesauce).

We described apples and wrote apple list poems.

We learned all about Johnny Appleseed and practiced nonfiction writing. This little Johnny and our circle map was inspired by Julie Lee.

We read The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons. Then we sequenced the life cycle of the apple and made this apple pocket to keep our pieces. The apple sequence pictures are from Cara Carroll.

We had a labeling mini lesson and labeled the parts of the apple. Chart inspiration by Cara Carroll!

I pulled out my picture cards I had from my five senses unit and used them to explore an apple.